An active substance complex for creating biological parts, in particular organs for living organisms, with said components is already known in the prior art. In this known active substance complex, the structural component can consist for example of different collagens, elastin or proteoglycans. As recruiting component for this active substance complex, chemotactics may be mentioned in particular, for example peptides, such as N—F-Met-Leu-Phe- and/or for example metabolites of arachidonic acid, such as leukotrienes. The role of the adhesion component can be played by proteins of the fibronectin or laminin type, but also by cell adhesion molecules, such as L-CAM, N-CAM, and matrix adhesion molecules, such as cytotactin, tenascin, collagen types IV, V, VII, synthetic peptides and transmembrane compound proteins, such as integrin. For the purposes of the active substance complex discussed here, the first-mentioned examples of adhesion components, namely fibronectin and laminin, are to be classed as matrix adhesion molecules. As a further component, said active substance complex comprises at least one growth and/or maturation component, preferably in the form of one or more cytokines. Examples of such cytokines are colony-stimulating factors in the production of blood; fibroblast growth factor in the production of connective tissue; epidermal growth factor in the production of skin; cartilage-inducing factor in the production of cartilage; lymphocyte-activating factor and spleen peptides in the production of spleen or lymph nodes; T-cell growth factor and thymus peptides for the production of thymus; bone growth factor and transforming growth factor for the production of bone; and angiogenesis factor for the production of blood vessels. The following cytokines are also used: interleukins, insulin-like growth factors, tumor necrosis factor, prostaglandins, leukotrienes, transforming growth factors, platelet-derived growth factor, interferons, and endothelium-derived growth factor.
More details concerning this active substance complex are to be found in European Patent No. 0,500,556, the content of which is expressly included in the present document.
Following its production, this active substance complex initially has a cottonwool consistency. If large bone defects are to be filled, the active substance complex introduced as an implant must have sufficient inherent strength to ensure that it is not compressed by the surrounding soft tissues or bone structures. It must therefore already be compressed prior to said use, which results in greater mechanical strength but also a high consumption of material, or else a sufficiently stable support material must be used together with the active substance complex. However, the combination of a support material with the active substance complex is by no means unproblematic. Based on previous experience of the active substance complex and of its complex mode of action, one would have to expect at least a reduced formation or recreation of the particular biological part to be treated, for example osseous regeneration. The risk of a histotoxic reaction has also been suspected.
In addition, it has not hitherto been possible to use the active substance complex for diseases or defects in which the implant consisting of the active substance complex is subjected to such high mechanical stresses that even the mechanical strength of a compressed material can be insufficient.